Olympic Village has a new Italian café, taking up the home of the one before it. For those familiar with Casereccio Foods on West Broadway, known for their authentic homespun Italian cuisine, this is their second and newest location. Onda is an expanded and more flushed out concept with more than just pasta. This larger location also allows for a larger menu.
An elevated café experience with wine and cocktails, breakfast, lunch, and dinner options made to order. Plus grab and go snacks spread two full showcases that includes desserts, premade sandwiches, and pizza by the slice. They even have a full counter, dedicated to gelato.
Coming in for lunch we decided to explore the menu through their appetizers, paninis, pasta, and pizza. We relied heavily on our server’s recommendations, making our choice based on the excitement she had speaking to them, and she did not steer us wrong.
The Caprese salad was a nice, light start with tomato, fior di latte, and basil. The out of season cherry tomatoes were slightly tart, but balanced out by the sweeter balsamic glaze, which the balls of cheese did well to absorb. Overall, nothing too exciting here, but it did offer itself as a nice break in-between tangy acid and saltier bites below.
We were impressed by “Maria’s Meatballs” made from pork and beef, drenched in tomato sauce and topped with parmigiano. I feel that to have a dish of meatballs that stands alone is a challenge, especially as many are made ahead of time, resulting in the need to reheat and their dry, ashy centres. However, here you can tell that the meat was fresh, not from frozen, and it was cooked to order, as per its smoking hot middle. Three giant balls drowned in sauce, served with more focaccia. With the bread as a base, it felt like a more fulsome dish. I made sure to keep the sauce as a dip of sorts for the remainder of the focaccia bread.
Honestly, the House Focaccia was my favourite item of the meal. Not only do we get two slices per appetizers, it was also used as the base for the pizza, making it more distinct and memorable; and then featured in their Panini sandwiches.
Of the latter, we tried the most popular: the Porchetta. Oven roasted porchetta, rapini, mayo, and provolone. By comparison, this was less punchy and flavourful than the rest of our dishes before, and after. However, as is, I found it a very meaty bite and a large portion for $15.95. A chunk of their House Focaccia is sliced in half and used as a pita with all the above mentioned filling stuffed in. You immediately could taste the salty meatiness of the pork, balanced out by all the fresh bitter greens. Just be warned it is drippy and with oils, and it may stain. Luckily it is served on a large board that can easily catch anything your mouth misses.
For housemade pastas the Radiatori Rose was fantastic. What made this dish special was the type of pasta used, it is “C” shaped with additional ridges to capture additional sauce, and really saturate the noodle. Rose sauce, stracciatella cheese, herbed breadcrumbs, and parmigiano. The sauce is equal parts tangy and creamy in a best of both worlds blend of cream white and tomato red. More soggy than firm in that it was like eating a sponge, but in the best way possible. I will come back just for this.
The Gnocchi Mushroom Cream was woodsy with porcini, mixed mushroom, cream, and parmigiano. We added on burrata for an extra layer of creaminess, and you also have the option to add on proteins to make this less vegetarian. The balls of potatoes dough had a lovely spring to them in the mouth, each offering a good balance of starch to the cream. However, I did feel like I needed something acidic to cut into its dense and one toned richness.
Luckily we ordered two glasses of rosé and found it helpful in this endeavour.
And for dessert we combined our end of meal, coffee with ice cream and ordered an affogato. Sitting next to the gelato counter, how could we not? The collection today included fruit sorbettos and plenty of vanilla-based gelatos that would go perfectly with a shot of espresso.
There is no wrong choice here, but we both ordered ones with a cookie or crumb for a textured crunch. I had the tiramisu with cakey bits and my guest a caramel that had crushed up cookie. This was definitely a lovely way to end the meal and ideal for lingering at your table with.
In closing, I was honestly pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the food and my time here; coming in with lower expectations, thinking they are just a Cafe. However, I am happy to have tried them and can honestly recommend them for their delicious and authentic pastas and pizzas. Everything is made in-house and at affordable prices.
Onda by Casereccio
1610 Salt St, Vancouver, BC V5Y 0Đ•4
(604) 829-1610
ondayvr.ca
